Tonny Drileba triple-double sinks Namuwongo Blazers

City Oilers' Jimmy Enabu during last season's National Basketball League finals played in the dilapidated Lugogo Indoor Stadium /NBL Uganda image

BASKETBALL Tonny Drileba triple-double sinks Namuwongo Blazers

Ndyamuhaki J Emanzi 23:15 - 16.06.2023

Drileba shot three-for-10 from the field and sank three-of-four free throws as the champions cruised to a 20-point game.

City Oilers stretched their unbeaten run to 12 games following Friday night’s 72-52 pummelling of Namuwongo Blazers at the Lugogo Indoor Stadium.

The clash was only a contest in the first quarter before City Oilers peeled away to create daylight between themselves and last year’s losing finalists.

One player who had his hands on everything Mandy Juruni’s charges did was guard Tonny Drileba, whose triple-double of 10 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists made the difference.

Tonny Drileba registered a tripple-double and was the Player of the Game /NBL Uganda image

The Silverbacks guard shot three-for-10 from the field and sank three-of-four free throws as the champions cruised to a 20-point game.

The start was competitive, but it was City Oilers who finished the first quarter on the front foot with a nine-point advantage (23-14).

What was a nine-point advantage at the end of the first frame ballooned to 14 (41-27) going into the halftime break.

Chris Omanye and Namuwongo Blazers had no answers to City Oilers' questions /NBL Uganda image

The oilers relied on Titus Lual and James Okello to crash the boards and had Fayed Baale dropping shots from the perimeter.

Both sides struggled for offence at the start of the third quarter, but the eight-time champions edged it 12-10 to lead by 16 (53-37) going into the final ten minutes.

Jimmy Enabu scored a game-high 17 points and added three rebounds and two assists, while Lual has a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Baale scored 11 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Okello got 10 points and seven rebounds. Guard Ivan Muhwezi came off the bench to contribute 10 points.

For the Blazers, only Paul Odongo (14) and Michael Makiadi (12) managed to score in double figures, the latter adding a massive 21 rebounds for a double-double.

The two teams were without some of their key players, and the Blazers were affected the most.

Peter Cheng, the team’s best player from the first round, is on national duty with South Sudan, and his absence was felt as the Blazers struggled for offence all night.

City Oilers’ Ruai Luak is also with the South Sudan team preparing for the FIBA Afro-CAN Qualifiers in Dar es Salam, Tanzania, while Micheal Ngut was another absentee for the men in blue.

National Basketball League

Friday results

JKL Lady Dolphins 65-59 JT Lady Jaguars

Namuwongo Blazers 52-72 City Oilers